Sino-Vatican Ties Bring More Harm to Chinese Catholics

By Valerie Halim
The Chinese Foreign Ministry declared on Nov. 29 that the nation is open to improving diplomatic ties with the Catholic State.

“China is sincere and active in promoting Sino-Vatican relations [and] welcomes the development of relations,” the ministry said to the South China Morning Post.

Since Beijing broke off diplomatic ties with the Vatican in 1951, Pope Francis recently tried to improve relations between China and the Vatican.

However, the improving relations between the Vatican and China has not done any good. During the past year, Chinese Catholic churches continue to struggle with religious freedom.

Last September, the Chinese government and the City State signed the controversial Holy See–China Agreement. This agreement recognized the Pontiff has the veto power over the bishops, while the Chinese government has the authority to select the bishop candidates. Unfortunately, the treaty ultimately led to religious syncretism and increased persecution of incompliant churches.

Religious Syncretism

Shortly after the release of the agreement, China held Political Consultative Conference on Religions which displayed the core belief of the state-church. This conference discussed how the church should interpret religious doctrine to stay relevant to today’s era.

According to Asian News, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee president Wang Yang stated that religious doctrines should agree with socialist values. This statement affirmed President Xi Jinping’s speech in 2015 on religious and state synonymity.

At the same conference, another Chinese Bishop reiterated the idea of religious conformity to the state. Diocese head of Linyi Bishop John Fang Xingyao stated that patriotism trumps the Bible’s canon law. Bishop Fang is the leader of two Chinese Catholic Organizations unrecognized by the Vatican. Until today, the Vatican has not released any public response to address this issue.

Increased Persecution

Another example that highlights the damage caused by the Holy See-China Agreement was Bishop Vincent Guo–Diocese of Mindong. Guo was a bishop recognized by the Vatican but not by the party-state. The pope asked bishop Guo to ‘sacrifice’ himself and step down for the sake of unity after the signing of the agreement.

Another part of the agreement was to have bishops to join the Patriotic Catholic Association (PCA) if they wish to continue their post. This is the agreement that Bishop Guo rejected, making him a target for the communist party.

Bishop Guo’s story is not unique and is the story of many other bishops who chose to maintain their religious integrity by refusing to join the PCA.

Even with the rise in religious syncretism and persecution, the Vatican has not done anything to resolve this issue. Meanwhile, other Chinese religious leader has been raising awareness about the church condition in China.

In an interview with Church Militant , Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen gave his comments on the Holy See-China agreement.

“[It is] really a terrible thing; the most worrisome element is that the agreement was a secret one, so we do not know what is in the agreement,” he said.

In response to the interview, Fr. Francis Liu affirmed Cardinal Zen’s comment via tweet.

“The provisional agreement between Pope Francis and the Chinese government has caused tremendous harm to the underground Church. It is unknown how long this type of injury will take to heal. Pray to the Lord, ” he tweeted.

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.